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Title: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 19:23:44 pm Time for the next installment in my photo collection. Being that it is close to Christmas time I felt the urge to share.
The first photo is taken in the Costa Mesa store, 1953 Newport Blvd in the back room. I'm thinking this was about 1975. Standing is Pat (I can grow a beard in less than 30 minutes) McMahon and a "mystery man" sitting next to him is not a character from Monte Python. ::) ::) Anyone know who this lad might be?? I'll wait for some return post before commenting if someone has figured it out. What I can tell you up front is that when my wife saw this she couldn't believe it was the name that I offered. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 19:30:40 pm At the counter of the Costa Mesa Store are the same two employees. Anyone interested in some of those "original" Auto Haus T-Shirts or stickers??
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 19:35:37 pm A shot of the Costa Mesa Parking lot. The BMW at the far right is my first one, a 1972 Bavaria 4 speed that was a great car. Standing behind the car is Gary Michael Huggins, DKP founder.
If you look at the Ghia to the far left it might offer a clue as to who the "mystery man" might be. I know there is someone out there lusting for the Vega... :o :o :o :o Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 19:42:12 pm Here a a photo that must have been taken around Christmas time. This is the room just north of the counter and is the location of my first meeting with my friend Bruce Cooley. http://cal-look.no/lounge/index.php/topic,12437.0.html At times we would set up sand rail frames in there with all the accessories we offered to go with that part of the hobby.
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 19:49:38 pm Some of the many exhaust systems we carried back in the day. Most were the S&S brand and by this time the Mini Truck market was starting to grow. Systems for those vehicles were added to our offerings but we never had that much luck selling them.
You will not see any "quiet pack" systems here as this photo predates them. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 20:00:05 pm This would be the south west corner of the store. The white spoke wheels you see are Jackman brand which was big in the day for off road use.
Fender flairs at the top with some Baja fenders below which were offered in "Handlaid" or "Chopper Gun" style from our Race-Trim facility in Buena Park very close to the Fullerton Airport. This location had a major fire and was destroyed and I've written about that in the past. You can see the "Moon Roofs" that were the rage back then. Personally I never could understand how someone could take a VW, Mini Truck or Van and cut a hole in the roof and install one of these things. You can also see some side windows for Vans in the photo. I especially like the "Tear Drop" version. I think Ed Craig and I shared and still share the same feelings on these items. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 20:09:53 pm I've posted this photo before and it is of me in the Orange Store. This location later became the Proformance store for Dave Greiner. Today I think it is some kind of a mini market. The location was 1211 N. Tustin Ave. just south of Katella.
The chimp was named Melinda and a gal walked in carrying it. I asked if I could hold her and was amazed when I went to take her she reached out like a person would do. You could feel the strength in the chimps arms. After hearing some stories of recent times what these animals can do to a human I think I'd not go there. Note the Auto Haus Golf shirt. We had them in many colors as I recall. In the background you can see real Santana Pulleys in both sizes and 32NDIX Zenith carbs and Race Trim dual carb linkage. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Fastbrit on December 19, 2011, 20:21:01 pm Mystery man is Mug Dish... I mean Doug Mische. Looking 'happy' as always!
I have an Autohaus Westminster T-shirt and a generic Autohaus T-shirt – the latter I bought in period when I used to order parts from Autohaus. I still have a few of the small decals (someone there sent me about 50 or the things..) plus a couple pf the big ones. John, you looked so handsome, so young, so... er, not sure what! ;D Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 20:23:07 pm This is the Buena Park store, 6315 Beach Blvd. where it all started for me in 1971 and many others soon after. This would be the south west corner of the building. Liner kits on the floor and I can't read the prices, but they were far less than today. To the left of these was a couple of stacks of Coco Mats which we kept away from the front window to keep them from fading due to sun exposure.
The large beach towel showing all of the car logos I still have to this day and it lives in the trunk of my '63 sedan. Still looks pretty good 40 years later. To the right of this you can see a VDO display with several gauges on the shelf as well. We sold this brand along with Auto Meter back in the day. Above the VDO you can see a couple of cards of Badges that were popular back then. This was the era that M.G. Mitten and Vilem B. Hann were still in the game and AMCO accessories was a big name. In the foreground you can see the top of a fiberglass buggy seat. We sold lots of them and the covers and padding as well. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: deano on December 19, 2011, 20:38:36 pm Check out th stack of lizard and ISS 92s on the floor!
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 20:45:46 pm This shot would be the north wall next to Crocker Bank and taken from behind the counter. Many things on display here such as an Okrasa crank and I think the sign states $275 or $295. Think about that price in that days $$ and you can appreciate what is out there to day for about the same money.
To the right of the Okrasa is an SPG Roller crank. I think that thing hung there forever as it was more $$ as I remember. The other cranks I can't remember but I do see one there marked 82mm. Above the cranks you see a couple of Engel cams and to the right a Race-Trim windage tray and sump. We carried Koni, Bilstein and lesser brand shocks for VW and Porsche applications. You can see some of the Race-Trim wood dash kits and one of my favorites is down low. There is a lattice item that is in the shape of a rear quarter window for a VW sedan and that is exactly what it was for. This was when Lynn went to the "dark side" and bought crap like this. Many other items are there and you just need to spend some time looking. It is amazing how much stuff we offered the customer back in the early days. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: lawrence on December 19, 2011, 20:55:02 pm I like the second to last photo. Looks like some cool beer mugs hanging on the wall and a brand new speedwell wheel. Any idea on the cars, in photos, hanging on the wall, John?
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 20:56:49 pm Another shot of the north wall taken from further back. You can see S&S Headers, Rapid Kool external kits and numerous intake manifolds, many of them being for a 2 barrel set up as this was more affordable back in the day.
There is a pair of 48IDA Webers on Race-Trim Manifolds and there is also a Turbo Kit as well. We sold many of the green foam filters (pre K&N) but I'm blank on the brand name currently. To the far right is a display of driving and fog lites. We were a Cibie distributor and a couple of other brands. Note the HP Books below the sump. Last but not least are some more of those "Lynn" window fillers on the front of the counter. I honestly can' remember if we ever sold one set except for the ones that Ed Craig installed in his Split.... :o :o :o :o ;D ;D ;D Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 21:09:40 pm The final photo of these series and I've saved the best for last. The young lad behind the counter is my longtime friend Ed Craig probably within a few months after he started working there.
Behind Ed you can see steering wheels, nerf bars, tinted window inserts and rear storage-speaker covers in the upper right. There are also a couple of Hurst Shifters. Many other items I'm sure are here that I've missed, so I'll let you guys and gals with the better eyes look and see what you can find. Enjoy...................... ;) ;) ;) ;) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: . on December 19, 2011, 21:11:56 pm Once again, A great story and photos John !
If only we could go back. :) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 21:13:52 pm Mystery man is Mug Dish... I mean Doug Mische. Looking 'happy' as always! I have an Autohaus Westminster T-shirt and a generic Autohaus T-shirt – the latter I bought in period when I used to order parts from Autohaus. I still have a few of the small decals (someone there sent me about 50 or the things..) plus a couple pf the big ones. John, you looked so handsome, so young, so... er, not sure what! ;D Keith, you win the prize and quite a "prize" he is. I can't tell you how many shirts, hats, etc. I had and let slip though my fingers. I do still have some items such as a couple of completely virgin AH Catalogs and maybe more items to be discovered. John, you looked so handsome, so young, so... er, not sure what! Regarding your comment above I can clearly see that you haven't gotten over the Colonies kicking butt all those years ago. :o :o :o :o Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 21:19:21 pm I like the second to last photo. Looks like some cool beer mugs hanging on the wall and a brand new speedwell wheel. Any idea on the cars, in photos, hanging on the wall, John? Ron Rosevear was BIG into off road stuff and shot lots of photos. I suspect these might have been his, but beyond that I don't recall. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 21:21:23 pm Once again, A great story and photos John ! If only we could go back. :) Richard, Pleased you are enjoying these. I have more photos and stories to share in the future. ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) Merry Christmas............... John Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Flow on December 19, 2011, 22:14:48 pm Now we know how the heaven is... 8)
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Nostalgiavw67 on December 19, 2011, 22:16:31 pm John,
Thank you for your X-mas presents ;) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: kingsburgphil on December 19, 2011, 22:22:16 pm Another shot of the north wall taken from further back. You can see S&S Headers, Rapid Kool external kits and numerous intake manifolds, many of them being for a 2 barrel set up as this was more affordable back in the day. There is a pair of 48IDA Webers on Race-Trim Manifolds and there is also a Turbo Kit as well. We sold many of the green foam filters (pre K&N) but I'm blank on the brand name currently. To the far right is a display of driving and fog lites. We were a Cibie distributor and a couple of other brands. Note the HP Books below the sump. Last but not least are some more of those "Lynn" window fillers on the front of the counter. I honestly can' remember if we ever sold one set except for the ones that Ed Craig installed in his Split.... :o :o :o :o ;D ;D ;D IIRC the green foam air filters were made by Filtron. They worked well if you kept them away from water :D Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 22:46:57 pm Now we know how the heaven is... 8) Heaven is a good way to describe what we did for jobs back in the day. We had a great time but I know I certainly didn't appreciate how great those times were until time moved on. I've had some good jobs and times since then, but nothing to compare............... Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 22:49:06 pm Another shot of the north wall taken from further back. You can see S&S Headers, Rapid Kool external kits and numerous intake manifolds, many of them being for a 2 barrel set up as this was more affordable back in the day. There is a pair of 48IDA Webers on Race-Trim Manifolds and there is also a Turbo Kit as well. We sold many of the green foam filters (pre K&N) but I'm blank on the brand name currently. To the far right is a display of driving and fog lites. We were a Cibie distributor and a couple of other brands. Note the HP Books below the sump. Last but not least are some more of those "Lynn" window fillers on the front of the counter. I honestly can' remember if we ever sold one set except for the ones that Ed Craig installed in his Split.... :o :o :o :o ;D ;D ;D IIRC the green foam air filters were made by Filtron. They worked well if you kept them away from water :D Thanks Phil for filling in my "Senior Moment". I do remember those and a few others back in the day. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Dominick Luppino on December 19, 2011, 22:59:56 pm [ I know there is someone out there lusting for the Vega... :o :o :o :o[/color][/i][/b] Thanks John, those pictures sure bring back memories, and yes I like Vega's! Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 19, 2011, 23:05:38 pm [ I know there is someone out there lusting for the Vega... :o :o :o :o[/color][/i][/b] Thanks John, those pictures sure bring back memories, and yes I like Vega's! Vegas and Pintos got the bad rap just as the Corvair did a few years prior. I always thought the Vega was a good design but not the greatest factory motor. That is an easy fix as you have proved....... ;) ;) ;) ;) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: rick m on December 20, 2011, 03:06:44 am John,
Here are two contributions of my pix in front of the Auto Haus stores. One is the Costa Mesa store and the other the Orange store near NORMS Restaurant. Rick Mortensen Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 20, 2011, 03:24:22 am John, Here are two contributions of my pix in front of the Auto Haus stores. One ise. the Costa Mesa store and the other the Orange store near NORMS Restaurant. Rick Mortensen Rick, thanks for both of those as I don't have a shot of the front of the Orange store. A couple of notes about both of these locations. One night we had break ins at both of these locations. I got one of them boarded up and spent the night sitting in the other one. Definitely no fun and a night I won't forget. The other was on August 16, 1977 in the early afternoon. I was in the Orange store and the radio we had on just finished playing the then new release of "You don't bring me flowers anymore" a duet with Barbra Streisand and Neal Diamond. The song finished and the announcement came on that Elvis Presley had died. One of those moments burnt in my memory forever. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Lee.C on December 20, 2011, 04:08:45 am Thankyou john - Merry Christmas :)
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 20, 2011, 06:12:59 am December 19, 2011, 9 pm. I just went to the Beetle tucked away in the garage and retrieved the "beach towel" shown in the Buena Park Store shots. It does smell a bit of gas as it has been in the trunk for years, but none the less here it is with me holding it. I'd say it has stood the test of time better than I have.... ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Fritter on December 20, 2011, 07:55:57 am Good stuff! Love the DDS parts. And no "Calvin peeing on xxxx" stickers yet. Instead, there were lace inserts for your windows. ;D
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Micke H on December 20, 2011, 15:01:20 pm Thanks Johan and Marry Christmas
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: deano on December 20, 2011, 16:04:01 pm So cool. I recall spending so much time drooling on all those parts. But, I actually bought a lot of them too. I asked so many dumb-assed questions of you John at the time. Your eyes would roll around and you would resite the filed answer you apparently gave us so many times. Especially the chrome ones. It was a true candy store for me, and worth the trip down Beach Blvd from La Habra.
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 20, 2011, 16:53:52 pm So cool. I recall spending so much time drooling on all those parts. But, I actually bought a lot of them too. I asked so many dumb-assed question of you John at the time. Your eyes would roll around and you would resite the filed answer you apparently gave us so many times. Especially the chrome ones. It was a true candy store for me, and worth the trip down Beach Blvd from La Habra. Dean, sorry as I didn't mean to be so hard on you. Customers could and still can do that to me as although improved (or mellowed) over the years I can still become unruly at times. It really was the "candy store" for those of us who had the disease and I feel so lucky to have been a small part of it back in the day. So here we are four decades later and now I look to guys like Deano for the answers. By the way my fresh and undamaged copy of the latest Hot VW arrived last week and I've got it safely in the envelope it arrived in. Thanks Dean, you are the BEST......... :) :) :) :) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: WCB Hitler's Hot Rod on December 21, 2011, 09:35:55 am Thanks John for all this great info. After reading these stories from this thread I started thinking about the selection of members throughout the DKP club during that point of time; which would probably be DKP 2 during this era. Correct me if I'm wrong. Would it be safe to say that Auto Haus also played a role within the selection of the club between members ? IMO Auto Haus played a huge role in the cal-look movement cause like Dean said it seemed to be our candy store for parts but, possibly a preliminary meeting place for possible members into your club?? Just curious about your thoughts on this.
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 21, 2011, 17:21:00 pm Thanks John for all this great info. After reading these stories from this thread I started thinking about the selection of members throughout the DKP club during that point of time; which would probably be DKP 2 during this era. Correct me if I'm wrong. Would it be safe to say that Auto Haus also played a role within the selection of the club between members ? IMO Auto Haus played a huge role in the cal-look movement cause like Dean said it seemed to be our candy store for parts but, possibly a preliminary meeting place for possible members into your club?? Just curious about your thoughts on this. Thinking back of those days I don't remember that many Auto Haus employees were in DKP I and possibly DKP II. In the beginning I think I was the only DKP member. The guys I worked with like Ed Craig was in a different club, Dave Greiner was in no club and later Stan Davis who had been in DKP I came to work there, but that was after our club days. By the time DKP II came to be Mike Dumpy and Doug Mische were employees, but I can't think of others. Auto Haus probably was a major player back in the days of DKP I because we were about the only major supplier of parts in the SoCal area. CB Performance or as it was known back then, Claudie's Buggies, was there but we never heard that much from them. If you study the "cycle" prior to AH and CB there was MG Mitten and Vilem B Haan both based out of the Los Angeles area. They were more in tune to the "sports car" buyer. Later in the AH and CB times Johnny's Speed and Chrome became a player but prior had been more in the domestic market selling chrome wheels and some bolt on accessories. When the VW drag cars started showing up Auto Haus sponsored two as I recall. They were Larry Kelley's car and of course Tar Babe. You will note in photos of those times the Auto Haus name predominately displayed on both cars. Kelley was not involved in a club to my knowledge and Ron & Greg were DKP members but it was purely a "business arrangement". As I recall the Rosevear's were not fond on Fleming & Aronson and I think Ron and Greg felt the same, but it did work for both. Back in those early times clubs were not "user friendly" like they are today and in some cases the rivalry was strong. Working in the stores and dealing with members from "all" clubs we as employees had to remain neutral. I don't recall ever seeing an instance where Ed or I had a problem. Of course there was joking between people including Ed and myself which still goes on to this day. What I've really enjoyed since returning to the VW scene is seeing all groups show mutual respect for one another. Lets face it all people involved in the VW scene are there for the comradary of it. To my knowledge none of the clubs ever met or held meetings at one of our company owned locations. The Rosevears had to play across the board for all clubs as members in all of these groups were customers. Many of the people in the business at the time worked together as you've seen. Items produced by APRM were sold under the Deano and Race Trim banner and they were the same thing. Here is something that I personally witnessed. One day at the Dale St. warehouse there was a call from a "competitor" who was also a customer. They were demanding payment on some goods we had purchased and I think the amount was around $3000. Ron Rosevear was notified of this while the competitor was on the phone. He ask our bookkeeper what their balance was. Turn out that they owed us around $15,000 for product they had purchased from us. Ron instructed our person on the phone to say that we'd be more than happy to make the payment as soon as we received full payment from them. Normally this type of issue never came up, but that one I'll always remember as I saw the red in Ron's eyes. In closing I don't feel that Auto Haus played into pulling members into any club. I can't speak for the others but DKP I had requirements and one had to apply and attended functions for a period of time. If there car didn't meet the club qualifications they were made aware of such and could make changes. Once all of that was done the membership body did a vote on the applying person. I think DKP III has the same basic format today. Here is the link to DKP III's guidelines: http://www.dkpcarclub.com/ So, I hope that answers your quesitons and I'm glad you enjoy the photos and info. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Georg/DFL on December 22, 2011, 00:03:45 am John, it was entertaining and informative as always! Thank you very much for those great stories and photos!
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: edcraig on December 23, 2011, 05:26:20 am Great pics John. I'll have to dig into some of mine to see what I have. John and myself talked about this a few times. It really was a great time working there. For me, it was my job, hobby, lifestyle all rolled into one. During my time in the retail section of the company, I put in a lot of time in the Buena Park Store. I do remember we had a countertop with decals of all of the local VW Clubs. I honestly don't remember any serious friction between any of the clubs. Some maybe more liked than others, but for the most part we all got along pretty well.
....Ed Legendary DRA Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: bugnut68 on December 24, 2011, 08:08:19 am Love the shot of S&S exhaust systems... RIP, S&S Hheaders, they finally folded in the last year or year and a half or so... so bummed. Best exhaust I've ever owned was a 1-3/8 single QP I bought for my 1776 in 2003 or 2004... I also have a set of unused dual QPs sitting in the shop that I acquired earlier this year.
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: marc1951 on December 30, 2011, 18:54:30 pm Here are some photos of the La Habra store. Unfortunately I don't have any of the Downey store.
[attachment=1] The store was located in the old Don Steves Chevrolet showroom [attachment=2] [attachment=3] Because it was once a new car showroom, it had large sliding glass doors on both sides. Sometimes we would have dune buggies or cars inside on display. Looking back, I wish I had displayed cars more often. [attachment=4] Here you can see the sliding door partially open. In hot weather, we would open both doors because the air conditioner could not keep up. With no insulation and all that glass, it was like an oven in there. The problem with having the open doors was controlling shop lifting. The main entrance was the door to the right of the sliding door. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 30, 2011, 19:29:43 pm Here are some photos of the La Habra store. Unfortunately I don't have any of the Downey store. [attachment=1] The store was located in the old Don Steves Chevrolet showroom [attachment=2] [attachment=3] Because it was once a new car showroom, it had large sliding glass doors on both sides. Sometimes we would have dune buggies or cars inside on display. Looking back, I wish I had displayed cars more often. [attachment=4] Here you can see the sliding door partially open. In hot weather, we would open both doors because the air conditioner could not keep up. With no insulation and all that glass, it was like an oven in there. The problem with having the open doors was controlling shop lifting. The main entrance was the door to the right of the sliding door. Marc, thanks for sharing the photos but I'm disappointed you don't have photos of "No Help" and "Anti Help", the owners two sons. ;D ;D ;D ;D A couple more stories I can tell you. My "Best Man", John Burk purchased a 1962 Honduras Maroon SS Impala 409-409 car from that location in the summer of 1963. It was one of 40 made as I understand it with a complete aluminum front end and a fiber glass hood scoop. Spent many a mile riding and behind the wheel of that one. Today the car would be PRICELESS. The other story is prior to working at Auto Haus I worked at the AJS Foreign Car Parts store later to become a BAP store at 721 S. Main St., Santa Ana. If that address sounds familiar to some of you it is because it is the location for A-1 Muffler today. When the afternoon sun would hit the west facing counter which was only about 10 feet back it was like bacon in a frying pan. To make it more intersting one of the other employees in that location at that time was a guy named Stan Davis.............. :o :o :o :o Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Lee.C on December 30, 2011, 23:19:19 pm Such COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL pictures ;D
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: marc1951 on December 31, 2011, 03:20:01 am Anti-Help? Nothing like having the owner's son working for you and he doesn't want to be there. A typical day would have Anti-Help coming in late and when asked to help with something, he would say he needed some breakfast first. Another hour to figure out where to go to buy some breakfast and another hour to get the breakfast and actually eat it.
Well now he was too full to work and when that wore off, he started talking about lunch!....and we started it over again. It was always easier to just do something myself than to go through the ordeal of explaining in incredible detail what you wanted done.......and then he couldn't remember the details and I would have to start over. I once sent him on an errand to pick up some seats.....and I "accidently" gave him the wrong directions. He was gone for 5 hours and was on his second tank of gas when he called collect and I had to tell him to go south on I-5, not north.....oops. Later, when I was negotiating with his father to buy the stores, the one thing that broke the deal was that I was to keep Anti-Help on. I think I've posted these before but here are some La Habra store inside shots..... [attachment=1] [attachment=2] [attachment=3] [attachment=4] Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 31, 2011, 03:53:34 am Marc, I don't remember if you were at this function or not. If you were I'm SURE you would remember the event. The Rosevears had a dinner with Mickey Thompson as the speaker promoting his new line of gas shocks. This was at the Buttery Restaurant in Buena Park at the corner of Stanton Ave. and Manchester.
The room was full and Mickey began his talk. During this numerous times he mentioned the word "Orifice" in conjunction with the valving within the shock. Finally either No Help or Anti Help raised a hand. Mickey stopped to address the question which was "Whats an Orifice"? You could hear a pin drop and all these years later Ed Craig and I still talk about that event. The "Help" brothers were definitely a pair to remember. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: marc1951 on December 31, 2011, 04:21:37 am Marc, I don't remember if you were at this function or not. If you were I'm SURE you would remember the event. The Rosevears had a dinner with Mickey Thompson as the speaker promoting his new line of gas shocks. This was at the Buttery Restaurant in Buena Park at the corner of Stanton Ave. and Manchester. The room was full and Mickey began his talk. During this numerous times he mentioned the word "Orifice" in conjunction with the valving within the shock. Finally either No Help or Anti Help raised a hand. Mickey stopped to address the question which was "Whats an Orifice"? You could hear a pin drop and all these years later Ed Craig and I still talk about that event. The "Help" brothers were definitely a pair to remember. Yes, I was there and how could I forget. It wasn't Anti-Help, but the other nitwit. It was embarrassing as I'm sure Mickey was very unimpressed with the level of Auto Haus employee's knowledge. And so was born..... "Orifice Boy". Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on December 31, 2011, 04:42:43 am Marc, I don't remember if you were at this function or not. If you were I'm SURE you would remember the event. The Rosevears had a dinner with Mickey Thompson as the speaker promoting his new line of gas shocks. This was at the Buttery Restaurant in Buena Park at the corner of Stanton Ave. and Manchester. The room was full and Mickey began his talk. During this numerous times he mentioned the word "Orifice" in conjunction with the valving within the shock. Finally either No Help or Anti Help raised a hand. Mickey stopped to address the question which was "Whats an Orifice"? You could hear a pin drop and all these years later Ed Craig and I still talk about that event. The "Help" brothers were definitely a pair to remember. Yes, I was there and how could I forget. It wasn't Anti-Help, but the other nitwit. It was embarrassing as I'm sure Mickey was very unimpressed with the level of Auto Haus employee's knowledge. And so was born..... "Orifice Boy". So, do you think "Orifice Boy" moved on to Washington DC and is a position of power today? If so that may shed some light on the way things are these days............. ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: edcraig on December 31, 2011, 08:12:39 am Here's a few of my store. One of the KNAC car I sponsored and another with some customer cars. The Vanagon was mine. It was probably the first in the country with Fuch Alloys.[attachment=1]
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: edcraig on December 31, 2011, 08:20:06 am Me on the left with Lynn Rosevear on the far right. This was at one of the Auto-Haus sponsored Bug in's.
The second photo was taken in my store. That's Mark Herbert on the left posing with our cardboard Mario Andretti. Mark was a long time employee of mine, along with Danny Deacon and Greg Booras. All great guys. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: rick m on January 01, 2012, 09:04:26 am Ed,
What ever became of Greg Booras? He used to bring a pink turbo manx to our early Phoenix Bug-O-Rama events in the 80's. I did not realize that he had worked for Auto Haus at one time. Rick Mortensen Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Fastbrit on January 01, 2012, 12:14:00 pm He's still out and about – look out for Cadillac convertible with cow horns mounted on the hood! :D
Bil Schwimmer I know is a good friend of Greg's... Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: kingsburgphil on January 01, 2012, 17:13:08 pm Marc, I don't remember if you were at this function or not. If you were I'm SURE you would remember the event. The Rosevears had a dinner with Mickey Thompson as the speaker promoting his new line of gas shocks. This was at the Buttery Restaurant in Buena Park at the corner of Stanton Ave. and Manchester. The room was full and Mickey began his talk. During this numerous times he mentioned the word "Orifice" in conjunction with the valving within the shock. Finally either No Help or Anti Help raised a hand. Mickey stopped to address the question which was "Whats an Orifice"? You could hear a pin drop and all these years later Ed Craig and I still talk about that event. The "Help" brothers were definitely a pair to remember. Yes, I was there and how could I forget. It wasn't Anti-Help, but the other nitwit. It was embarrassing as I'm sure Mickey was very unimpressed with the level of Auto Haus employee's knowledge. And so was born..... "Orifice Boy". I think even JohnL had one, which I'll keep to myself (it wasn't real bad). ;) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on January 01, 2012, 19:41:25 pm Marc, I don't remember if you were at this function or not. If you were I'm SURE you would remember the event. The Rosevears had a dinner with Mickey Thompson as the speaker promoting his new line of gas shocks. This was at the Buttery Restaurant in Buena Park at the corner of Stanton Ave. and Manchester. The room was full and Mickey began his talk. During this numerous times he mentioned the word "Orifice" in conjunction with the valving within the shock. Finally either No Help or Anti Help raised a hand. Mickey stopped to address the question which was "Whats an Orifice"? You could hear a pin drop and all these years later Ed Craig and I still talk about that event. The "Help" brothers were definitely a pair to remember. Yes, I was there and how could I forget. It wasn't Anti-Help, but the other nitwit. It was embarrassing as I'm sure Mickey was very unimpressed with the level of Auto Haus employee's knowledge. And so was born..... "Orifice Boy". I think even JohnL had one, which I'll keep to myself (it wasn't real bad). ;) I don't remember ever hearing Lynn referred to as "the Turquoise Cowboy" but it certainly fits. He had a HUGE Turquoise belt buckle and a ring. I remember when he would pass out the pay checks he would hold out the had with the ring implying kiss the ring. Of course it was a joke but never the less it became a legend amongst us. The name I remember Lynn referred to was created by Dave Greiner in the back of the Dale St. warehouse in Buena Park. As I recall we had just had our regular "managers meeting" and Dave for some reason in a quiet voice said "we've all been paid in Weasel Buck's". From that time on Lynn was known as "The Weasel". There would be phone communication between the stores when Lynn was in route that "The Weasel is on the way". Soon he learned the name and took it in stride. Even the last few phone conversations I had with Lynn the "Weasel" subject seemed to always surface and we both had a good laugh. I miss him and his phone calls. I've stated this before but ever year almost without fail there would be a Christmas day call from Lynn. He was a good guy and I owe him a lot for giving me opportunities. Regarding names for me, I'm sure there were plenty but the one I will always remember is Lynn calling me "Tight Jaw". I can still hear him saying many a conversation we had, "John, don't get so Tight Jawed". He also told me I was always "so serious" even years later when would have those now missed phone conversations long after our working days together. I'll bet Lynn is looking down from Heaven right now and laughing about us talking about all of this. :) :) :) :) :) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: edcraig on January 02, 2012, 03:23:05 am Rick...I don't see Greg very often, but he's around still. Last time I saw him was out at a one of the Fontucky past Bug in's.
...Ed. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: . on January 12, 2012, 03:17:20 am I was searching for an article in some old Hot VW magazines and look what I found between the pages of the July 1976 issue !
:o Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Zach Gomulka on January 12, 2012, 04:22:04 am Cool find!
Who's the salesman? Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: edcraig on January 12, 2012, 04:53:07 am Pat McMahon was the manager at the CM store for many years. Looks like it his signature on the receipt.
...Ed Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: kingsburgphil on January 12, 2012, 05:50:24 am I'm looking at the customers name? Could that be a pseudonym for Chuck Babbit, AKA Shakey Jake ?
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: . on January 12, 2012, 10:09:01 am It did come out of his magazine collection that I bought.
??? Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: IP359 on January 12, 2012, 22:48:52 pm Some old stuff of my collection.
Big up to Ed ;) IP Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: . on April 11, 2013, 00:12:35 am Just bought an NOS Auto Haus women's halter top !
:) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Lids on April 11, 2013, 13:45:11 pm Just bought an NOS Auto Haus women's halter top ! :) hope it fits, post a pic ;) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Lee.C on April 11, 2013, 16:37:02 pm One of my Favourite all time threads :)
Keep the pic's coming - PLEASE ;) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: guillaume on April 11, 2013, 17:04:00 pm I have this picture of an AutoHaus shop. Don't know which one it is and who is working on the engine.
[attachment=1] Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: speedwell on April 11, 2013, 17:44:18 pm guillaume that's JIM ABDONs owner of the insanity bug , and the engine was the one from insanity
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Rick Meredith on April 11, 2013, 23:28:57 pm Just bought an NOS Auto Haus women's halter top ! :) hope it fits, post a pic ;) EWwwwwwwwwwww!!!! Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Dyno-Don on April 13, 2013, 00:36:18 am I know it's over a year old, but concerning that receipt from the Costa Mesa store - that is Pat McMahon's signature as the employee and the customer was indeed Chuck "Shakey Jake" Babbit. I used to write Ed G. Farnsworth when ever I wrote something up for him.
And whenever Kerry Morse from Troutman & Barnes came in it was Harry P. Clapsaddle Don't know why now, but we thought we were pretty dang funny then. And John L. you may remember that entire group of off road racers that used to shop at Costa Mesa and included John Kennedy - we wrote all their stuff up to Norris Racing - even though it later turned out their resale number was for a boat shop or a der Wienerschnitzel or something odd., We found that out when we got audited by the Board of Equalization and they came in and made us do inventory while they checked it. I will never forget counting stacks of CoCo mats that were probably 5 feet tall and cost only a few dollars while that huge stack of NPR pistons and cylinders they didn't even bat an eye at. Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: . on April 13, 2013, 16:38:03 pm Hi Don !
I bought most of Shaky Jake's VW memorabilia and found that receipt in one of the Hot VW magazines. See you in Europe in a few months ! :) Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Lee.C on April 13, 2013, 17:04:09 pm Man just look at all that NoS Racetrim stuff :'( Or should I say Racetrim "Stock" :D :)
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: Dimi DKG on April 13, 2013, 22:23:18 pm What great pics and stories John... Somehow I feel you even bring the smell of the shops to us 40 years later!!!:-) So much crap as well but then that would bring money in day in day out.
Title: Re: AUTO HAUS STORES, THE PHOTOS Post by: johnl on April 14, 2013, 05:18:49 am What great pics and stories John... Somehow I feel you even bring the smell of the shops to us 40 years later!!!:-) So much crap as well but then that would bring money in day in day out. I'm pleased you enjoy the stories of days long ago. When I took those photos I had no idea I was recording history that I could share some 40 years later. |